The $1 trillion market-cap threshold is a considerable hurdle few companies cross. Only five companies are currently valued at more than $1 trillion, but what others are slated to cross this threshold in the next 10 years?

The first step is to establish realistic expectations, as the long-term annual return of the market is around 10%. Many companies exceed this return level, but few can do it consistently over a decade. Because of that, we'll set our 10-year return maximum at 15%. That means a company must be worth at least $247 billion today if it hopes to be worth more than $1 trillion within a decade.

While there will always be outliers that could blow this prediction out of the water, only 36 companies worldwide are worth at least $247 billion as of May 16. So of those 36, which ones can cross into the $1 trillion club? Let's find out.

Nvidia

Nvidia (NVDA 3.71%) is an easy choice for this list. At $730 billion, it should find itself across the $1 trillion threshold within a couple of years. However, Nvidia's potential is much higher than that.

Nvidia makes some of the world's most powerful GPUs (graphics processing units), which can be used in gaming computers, data centers, and, most importantly, training artificial intelligence (AI) models. This key industry should propel Nvidia's business into the $1 trillion club, but it will need to execute better than it has been.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023 (ended Jan. 29), Nvidia's revenue fell by 21%, and profits declined by 53%. With Nvidia's business moving in the wrong direction, how is it supposed to grow to a $1 trillion market cap? Well, the headwinds Nvidia is facing are likely temporary.

A weak PC market and cautious enterprise spending hurt nearly every facet of Nvidia's business in Q4, and that isn't likely to change in the coming months. However, the business boost AI will bring to Nvidia, coupled with a recovering PC market, should provide the kick it needs to return the business to growth mode.

With Nvidia only having to grow slowly to earn a $1 trillion valuation in a decade, it's an easy pick for this list.

Taiwan Semiconductor

Moving down the valuation ladder, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM 2.71%) is another company that could hit a $1 trillion valuation by 2033. At $444 billion right now, it would need to post a compounded annual growth rate of just 8.5% to become a $1 trillion company -- a metric that should be easily achievable.

Taiwan Semiconductor is a contract chip manufacturer, which means it makes the chips that go into devices companies like Nvidia or Apple design. Taiwan Semiconductor has always been at the cutting edge of chip design and has launched groundbreaking technology like 5 nanometer (nm) and 7nm chips -- a product line that currently makes up over half of Taiwan Semiconductor's revenue stream. Just five years ago, neither of these technologies existed, which shows how crucial continued innovation is.

Continuing on this new technology pathway, Taiwan Semiconductor is beginning to ramp up production of its 3nm chip. This new product offers up to 70% logic-density gain, 15% speed improvement, and 30% power reduction over 5nm chips, which used to be the best chip on the planet.

With Taiwan Semiconductor continuously innovating and launching new products, as well as developing the next generation already (1nm chips), it's another candidate for a soon-to-be $1 trillion company.

Visa

Switching gears from technology companies, Visa (V 0.05%) is another company that could be worth $1 trillion shortly. Its business likely needs no introduction; you probably have a Visa-branded credit or debit card in your wallet right now. Valued at $487 billion, it's worth more than Taiwan Semiconductor and can grow at a slower pace to reach $1 trillion in a decade.

However, Visa has no intentions of growing slowly.

Despite many investors worrying about a recession or a weakened consumer, Visa's business has steadily grown. While Visa is a complicated business, it boils down to one thing: The more times cards are swiped, the more money Visa makes. With payment volume rising 10% year over year in Q2 of FY 2023 (ended March 31), it's steadily putting up the numbers it needs to reach a $1 trillion valuation.

Additionally, with more global travelers, cross-border transactions rose 24% in Q2 -- a key money-maker for Visa. If the world continues on its path to more global travel, Visa will benefit significantly, allowing it to cross into the $1 trillion club much sooner than a decade.

While I think all three companies will be worth $1 trillion by 2033, it would be disappointing if this trio didn't cross that threshold by 2030.